Hoggle's Wish
by delkon
Summary: Hoggle gets his wish granted...


As the last of the denizens of the Labyrinth left Sarah's room, Hoggle stayed behind and made sure that everyone else had left. He pulled over and tucked in the blanket under Sarah's chin that she had laid down next to on the bed and then faded away from view. He reappeared in a doorway of the throne room, watching as the others left for various parts of the castle or the Labyrinth. He watched in silence as Jareth, their King, summoned up a crystal and was already focusing on the person who appeared inside it and making plans for the next time he was called upon. The old dwarf walked up to where Jareth was hunched forward on his throne, intensely gazing into the crystal.

"Your Highness?" He asked, somewhat timidly.

"Yes, what is it, Hoggle?" Jareth replied with a slight note of annoyance and boredom.

"Will she truly forget about us? I mean, she won't remember, just like the rest of them?"

"Yes, Hoggle, she will forget all about us, convincing herself it was a dream and she will be kinder towards her brother. Although I admit, I thought for sure that she wouldn't remember how to defeat me, that this time it would be different, but it simply wasn't meant to be. Now please do go away, Hoggle. I will be summoned very shortly and you need to be prepared." the King of the Goblins stated before motioning with his hand for Hoggle to go about his business.

"Well, Your Highness, I, I think I'm ready to have the second part of my wish granted. I've grown tired of this, this 'game' and I think I'd like to go ahead and use the second part of my wish now." Hoggle said, standing as straight and as tall as his diminished height would allow. 

Jareth eyed him warily. "Are you sure, Hoggle? Do you have in mind a particular wish, or did you want me to decide it for you?"

"I've decided on my own, Jareth. I wish to be fully human and to be able to live out my life as a man who lives Aboveground." The old dwarf said, crossing his arms on top of his chest.

"Very well then." Jareth conjured up a crystal with his free hand and handed it to Hoggle. "I warn you though, Hoggle, if you invoke this wish and aren't satisfied with it, there is nothing that I can do. You will be stuck wherever you are and as whoever you wind up being. There will be no Goblin King to call upon should you grow tired of life as a human. Nor will you be capable of even the simplest of magics. Knowing all this, do you still wish to continue?"

"Yes, I do." Hoggle said. He held up the crystal and made his wish. 

"Al? Al? Al?!?!?" 

Al Bundy was awakened from his dream by the shrill voice of his wife, Peggy, who was thumping him constantly on his backside with what felt like a rolled up newspaper. Remnants of his dream flashed before his eyes. A large maze looking thing, little flying girls with big wings, a strange looking man with wild hair sitting on the edge of a crazy looking throne, little creatures surrounding him. He shook his head, opened his tired and dry eyes more fully and slowly got up, the newspaper hitting him on his back the entire time.

"I'm awake! I'm awake! Doggone it, Peg! I'm up! I'm up!" Al said as he sat up in the bed and turned to face his wife, who tossed the paper off to one side as she crawled across the bed towards him. 

"Al, do you remember what you said last night?" Peggy said as she started to knead the muscles on Al's back.

"No, I don't, Peg. Please, tell me. What crazy thing did I swear I'd do for you last night if you did something for me?" Al asked even as he stood up from the bed, making his wife fall forward and almost off the bed.

"Don't you remember, Al? You promised me my mother could come and visit us for a week!" Peggy said as she got back up into a kneeling position on the bed.

Al Bundy was in shock. Of all the things to promise! He thought to himself. Man! If I could, I'd either kill myself or wish that none of this had ever happened, marrying his wife, his daughter Kelly and his son Bud, being a shoe salesman...Al's thoughts ground to a halt as something inside his mind flared to life. He caught another glimpse of the same world he saw a few moments ago and shuddered. Shaking his head to get rid of the unwanted memories, he made his way over to the chest of drawers, opening one up and rummaging around for a pair of socks that were still wearable. As he found two that didn't stink as much as the rest of the socks did, he had already forgotten about wishing himself either dead or somewhere else and had already resigned himself to the fact that this was his life and there was nothing he or anyone else could do about it. 


End file.
